Friday, June 29, 2007

Europe's leaders have buried their head in the sand

One thing is clear from the recent Munich Summit, Europe's leaders have buried their heads in the sand when it comes to dealing with their declining population.

To anyone willing to face the facts, it's clear that within a few decades, there will be a huge number of retired baby boomers, but with only a small and declining workforce to support them. Europe's generous cradle to crave welfare system just isn't sustainable. At the summit, various solutions have been put forward, mainly to encourage more immigration, but no one it seems is willing to state the obvious.....that Europeans need to have more children.

In many respects, the European Union has never got over World War II. Not just that it confuses patriotism with nationalism, but the fact that any government policy intended to promote higher birth rates is seen as a "Nazi" policy and thus beyond the pale.